


Living Life To The Maxel

by BustyWritesStuff



Series: Marvelous Misadventures of MAXEL [3]
Category: DCU, The Flash (Comics), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Depression, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Drabble, Drabble Collection, Ficlet, Ficlet Collection, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Petting, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Innuendo, M/M, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Scars, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-17
Updated: 2016-05-18
Packaged: 2018-05-02 01:37:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5228948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BustyWritesStuff/pseuds/BustyWritesStuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of One-Shots/Ficlets/Drabbles about my absolutely favorite rare-pair, Mark Mardon and Axel Walker A.K.A Maxel.</p><p>Chapters range from fluffy to smutty, but all chapters will be tagged accordingly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bring The Thunder!

The moon shone down brightly over Central City as the unbearably long day finally began to draw to a close, it's calming pale glow seemed to cover each and every centimeter of the vibrant city, lulling it down into a deep and pleasant slumber after another manic slice of what they'd come to know as everyday life.

 

At their apartment block in what felt like the very heart of the City, Mark and Axel sat atop the incredibly high building with their hands locked together and their legs dangling precariously over the edge. The pair sat in content silence, simply enjoying the peace and quiet their little rooftop hideaway was providing them with compared to the madness just one floor beneath.

 

Ever since they'd brought Josh in their lives everything had become very... lively, so say the very least. It's not that caring for Mark's son was a hassle, that couldn't be further from the truth, it was just that sometimes they needed a little time to themselves that was relatively free from interruption. Having Cisco and Lisa living with them too didn't help matters, but at least it meant they could help keep Josh busy every once in a while.

 

“ _This is nice.”_ Axel whispered as he tilted his head over and rested it down softly on Mark's shoulder.

“ _Yeah, it is.”_ Mark agreed, squeezing Axel's hand in his own and smiling to himself as he glanced down upon his boyfriend out the corner of his eye.

“ _We should come up here more often.”_ Axel continued on, his eyes slowly closing shut as he allowed himself to unwind against Mark.

“ _If we came up here more often, then it wouldn't be as special. Plus, the other's would eventually suss out where we were going and then that's our little spot ruined, just like that.”_ Mark said, clicking his free hands fingers together for added emphasis.

“ _You've got a point there I suppose.”_ Axel admitted. _“That and Josh would almost definitely want to come up here too if he found out this is where we were going, and I've got a feeling that you wouldn't want him playing up on the roof, not just yet anyway...”_

“ _That too. He's been completely obsessed with heights and flying ever since you let him try on your hover-shoes.”_ Mark chuckled, looking down at Axel a lopsided smirk on his face as he spoke.

“ _Oh man, remember that?! Your face when you walked in and seen him walking on the roof was priceless. I think I've still got the pictures tucked away somewhere...”_ Axel cackled to himself at the thought.

 

For a moment, the pair found themselves just laughing away almost manically to themselves at the thought of that one crazy day. Mark would admit, when he walked into the apartment and saw Lisa balancing on Cisco's shoulders trying to snatch Josh down from the roof, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Eventually after what felt like endless deliberation, Mark had settled on laughing. That story right there was just one of the many zany tales that living in a house full of super-heroes and super-villains with an unruly Toddler had provided him with over the last few months.

 

Exhausting, but oh so worth it.

 

“ _You know I'm in love with you, right Loki-Charms?”_ Mark eventually said in a soft, almost silent voice as he turned his head around once more to nuzzle the blonde mop of hair atop Axel's head as he spoke.

“ _I do. And I'm in love with you Cloudy”_ Axel replied, turning his head upwards and looking into Mark's eyes with a warm smile.

“ _Good.”_ Mark said cheekily, pressing a gentle kiss down onto Axel's forehead before turning his attention off of Axel and back towards the moon still hovering delicately in the sky above.

 

It wasn't too long after that Mark felt a hand that wasn't his own stroking his thigh. His eyes widening at the sensation, Mark turned to look towards his oddly silent companion and found Axel looking back up at him with an all too familiar look on his face.

 

Oh lord, Mark knew that look all too well.

 

“ _Mr. Walker, you keep that up and we might not make it back to the bedroom...”_ Mark teased, leaning in closer to Axel's face as he spoke.

“ _That's kind of the point...”_ Axel snickered as he pushed himself up towards Mark and allowed his lips to hover just a few inches before Marks, their lips not quite touching but not far off it either.

“ _You're terrible, you know that? Letting that big, comfortable bed of our's go to waste like this. Absolutely shameful.”_ Mark huffed out a throaty laugh as his arm travelled around Axel's torso and begun roughly palming Axel's crotch through his jeans. Axel couldn't help but groan sinfully in response. It was absolutely no surprise when that little groan shot straight to Mark's dick. The things Axel unintentionally did to Mark never failed to surprise him.

“ _Who needs a bed when you've got a perfectly comfortable, romantic and mostly secluded rooftop? Not us, that's for sure! So what you waiting for Cloudy, bring the thunder already!”_ Axel chuckled as he leapt forward and finally locked lips with Mark, knocking them both down onto the gritty,, dirty floor of the rooftop, the pair of them laughing excitedly as they tumbled together.

 


	2. Monochromatic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based off a Tumblr prompt I got not too long ago from AndyNeedsToStop.  
> A little warning, this chapter is a lot more angsty than the previous one and deals with some darker subject matter, namely some mention of self-harm and depression in general.  
> Anyway, if that doesn't bother you then I hope you enjoy it. :)

Axel was sat on the foot of his and Mark's bed wearing nothing but his boxers with a bottle of cheap whisky sat at his feet and his right wrist held delicately in his left hand. Laying haphazardly at his hip was his blue and yellow checked sweatband, tossed aside in the heat of the moment like it was nothing. With a forlorn sigh, Axel tenderly traced his thumb along the deep, pink scar running down along the inside of his wrist.

 

Axel had woken up that morning and found that everything seemed a little less colourful than they had done the previous night, almost as if everything had suddenly taken on a lonely, almost empty black and white hue while he slept.

 

It was concerning, but not entirely unexpected.

 

Axel had felt that all too familiar niggle in the pit of his stomach a few days ago. That little feeling was a telltale warning sign of what was to come, one that didn't exactly fill the plucky young Trickster with much hope.

 

On the one hand the feeling was truly a harbinger of doom and didn't exactly fill Axel with joy or the reassuring feeling of hope that he oh so desperately needed in times like these. Quite the opposite in fact. No good ever came of that little feeling and he didn't see that changing any time soon.

 

On the other hand, it did at least give Axel some time to try and prepare himself for the inevitable, namely the suffocating wave of hopelessness that was soon to swallow him up whole and hold him captive in it's inescapable grasp for days, maybe evens weeks on end if he was particularly unlucky.

 

Oh he had tried to ready himself for it, he really had, but sitting there at the foot of his bed in nothing but his boxers, swigging from a bottle of rancid whiskey and taking note of his collection of scars was a pretty clear sign that he had spectacularly failed.

 

Depression - **1**

Axel Walker - **0**

 

Axel didn't tend to have days like this often, not anymore anyway. But when he did have them, they hit him hard.

 

Axel would be the first to admit that the whiskey was a cliché, he didn't even like the taste if he were being completely honest with himself, but sometimes even the most clichéd of coping methods were the most effective. It was just a shame that all of Axel's seemed to be oh so very self-destructive.

 

“ _Hey babe, I was thinking of taking Josh to get some McDonalds and then some ice-cream or something, you want to come wi-”_ Mark said as the bedroom door swung open and he lumbered into the room, stopping only when he was met with an oddly passive glance from Axel, who was already feverishly slipping his sweatband back on around his wrist in a futile attempt to hide what both of them already knew was there. _“Uh... you okay?”_

“ _I'm fine. And yeah, food sounds pretty good right about now. Just gimmie a minute to get ready and I'll be right out.”_ Axel muttered shortly as he rose up off the foot of the bed onto his feet. As he did so, he also did his best to nudge the bottle of whiskey back underneath the bed. Hopefully Mark hadn't noticed that yet.

 

Not even managing to get more than a few feet away from the bottom of the bed, Axel couldn't help but gasp pathetically as Mark swooped up behind him and wrapped his obscenely large arms around Axel's comparatively tiny torso.

“ _I feel I should let you know that I am going to keep hugging you until you tell me what's wrong, and you and I both know I can be a real stubborn bastard when I need to be.”_ Mark said playfully as he tightened his grip around Axel's chest.

“ _Mark, I'm really not in the mood.”_ Axel moaned, letting his head drop forward and sighing deeply as he felt Mark's arms tense up around him.

“ _What's that? I can't quite hear you...”_ Mark teased as he flashed Axel a lopsided smirk.

“ _Listen up Cloudy 'cause I'm not gonna say it again, I'm not in the mo-”_ Axel begun before he shrieked wildly as Mark begun to tickle his exposed side.

“ _I swear something must be up with my ears, 'cause I just can't seem to hear a damn word you're saying man.”_ Mark chuckled menacingly as he locked his arms into place, keeping Axel pinned to his chest while he continued his dastardly assault on his lovers sides. _“Care to repeat that one last time?”_

“ _Fucking hell! Stop! STOP! Alright already! I'll talk!”_ Axel cackled, trying and failing to sound as threatening as possible as he continued to jerk violently in Marks grasp.

“ _Ah, That's what I like to hear.”_ Mark snickered as he gently kissed Axel's neck, his hands instantly stopping their tickling and reverted back to what they were doing before, namely resting just above the elasticated waste-line of Axel's underwear. _“Alright then Loki Charms, spill.”_

“ _Jesus Mark, was that really necessary?...”_ Axel half laughed with a relieved sigh as he turned to face the much taller man still hanging onto him. _“And it's nothing in particular. I just feel a little off today, that's all.”_

“ _It got you talking didn't it? So yeah, I'd say it was necessary.”_ Mark said, slipping forward and resting his head down on Axel's shoulder. _“And ah, right. You uh... you wanna talk about it?”_

“ _Not much to say really. Some days are better than others and today has been kinda shitty for no apparent reason. That's all.”_ Axel said as he tried to shrug, apparently forgetting that he had a spectacularly handsome dead weight pressing down hard onto his shoulder.

“ _Okay. Anything I can do to help?”_ Mark whispered as he kissed Axel's neck once again, sending a shiver running up Axel's spine as he did so.

“ _When you kiss my neck like that I can certainly think of one or two things that'd help, but Josh wants ice-cream and that obviously comes first.”_ Axel said as he fidgeted around in Mark's grasp before finally managing to push himself free. _“And I'm fine... or, I will be I guess.”_

“ _You sure? You don't have to come along if you don't feel up to it? You could always stay here and we could always bring you some nuggets and ice-cream back for you?”_ Mark offered with a smile. Staying at home did sound good, but being left alone with his thoughts was the last thing Axel needed to be doing right about now. Keeping himself busy was clearly the better option here, if not also the most exhausting. Truly a double edged sword.

“ _No it's fine, I'll tag along. It'll do me good to get out the house... probably. Plus, Ice Cream heals all wounds.”_ Axel nodded resolutely as he spun around on the spot to finally face Mark. _“Just give me a second to get ready and I'll be right out.”_

 

Nodding away to himself as he turned around and walked back over to the door, Mark paused in the doorway and turned back around to glance at Axel with a knowing yet comforting look on his face.

“ _Hey. I love you. No matter what happens, I'm here for you and that's never gonna change. You know that right?”_ Mark said with a genuine smile on his stubbly features as he lingered.

“ _I do...”_ Axel said, looking back at Mark with a small smile finally gracing his face. _“I love you too Cloudy.”_

 

And with that, Mark stepped out of the bedroom and back out into the hall, closing the door over behind him as he left. Now alone with his thoughts once more, Axel groaned silently to himself as he forced himself back over towards his clothes scattered across the other side of the room and slowly begun to slip back into them.

 

As he continued getting himself ready, Axel couldn't help but smile to himself at the oddly fuzzy feeling burning away in his chest like a roaring flame as Mark's words continued to sink in. Axel was certainly lucky to have someone like Mark in his life, that was for sure. The fact that the tall, handsome, weather-controlling dork was madly in love with him was just an added bonus. Just what had Axel done to deserve being so damn lucky?

 

Around him, the entire room still seemed so dull and endlessly grey, but suddenly everything didn't quite feel so hopeless anymore.

 

Maybe things didn't have to be so black and white after all.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again my loves, and I'll see you at the end of next chapter <3
> 
> [[If y'all have any prompts or chapter suggestions, hit me up at TheBustyStClair.tumblr.com and I'll see what I can do :)]]


	3. Take It Off

“ _I can explain!”_ Mark stammered as he desperately tried stripping out of the incredibly tight pair of yellow and blue checked pants that seemed to have gotten stuck around his knees. It went about as well as anyone would expect, as before the pants had even reached his ankles Mark had toppled over onto the floor with a painful sounding grunt and an even worse sounding tearing noise. Fantastic, just fantastic.

“ _I certain hope so Cloudy, 'cause those are, well, were my favourite pants...”_

 

_\- - - - -_

 

Earlier that morning sometime around 4am, Mark had woken up to find Axel in the kitchen tinkering away with the toaster in what the younger rogue had called a 'science experiment'. What that actually meant was  _“Cisco made a snippy comment to me last night, so I've rigged the toaster to explode the next time someone so much as looks at it.”,_ which considering there was a four year old living in the apartment with them too wasn't exactly ideal.

 

From there, Mark had thrown Axel out of the apartment with a wad of bills held tightly in his hand and had told him to go buy another toaster before Josh, or anyone else for that matter, woke up and begun looking for breakfast. Where Mark expected Axel to find a new toaster at 4:27am in the morning was anyone's guess, but when the infamous Weather Wizard gave out commands like that, Axel was inclined to listen. Not just because Mark's voice when he got all angry was unbelievably hot. Nope. Not at all.

 

As expected, no store was actually open at 5:00am. Chances are that Mark probably knew that, sneaky, sexy little bastard.

 

With limited options, Axel had done the only thing any self-respecting menace to society would do. Namely he waltz up to the local 'Target' just a couple of blocks over, disabled all the locks, camera and alarms, strolled into the stockroom, stole the most expensive looking toaster he could see and then made his way out, making sure to lock the doors and re-set both the cameras the alarms behind him.

 

Oh, that and he also printed himself a rather shoddy looking receipt too. With Josh now living with them full time, Mark had been on a big 'reforming' kick lately and had all but said their... intimate relations would be cut off should Axel not try and reel in his more 'criminal' urges. A low blow, but an effective one none the less.

 

In Axel's defence, that robbery went at least a million times better than they usually would have. The only one who knew anything about it was Axel himself. Well, Axel and whatever poor bastard had to count the 'electronics' section during their next stock-take. Honestly that was their problem, not Axels. In future, maybe they shouldn't have such a shit security system. Either way, tonight's job was a complete success.

 

That long (and kind of pointless) story aside, that didn't begin explain why he'd returned home less than an hour after being thrown out to find Mark in nothing but a pair of black, incredibly tight briefs and a pair of socks, trying (and failing) to squeeze himself into Axel's costume.

 

\- - - - -

 

“ _Well? I'm waiting?”_ Axel chuckled with a smirk as he folded his arms across his chest. _“Am I getting an explanation for this or not.”_

“ _Ah jeez, fine...”_ Mark moaned pathetically as he kicked the tattered remains of Axel's pants off of his legs and pushed himself back up off the floor. 

“ _Well...”_ Axel asked, still grinning away to himself like the Cheshire cat as he watched the almost-naked Mark simply sit himself down onto the floor with his knees in a basket and his hands at either side of him.

 

“ _Right...Well, its a funny story actually.”_ Mark said, laughing nervously as he glanced upwards at the over-confident looking trickster.

“ _I bet.”_ Axel said, raising an eyebrow and nodding down towards Mark's crotch. On the ground, Mark blushed and moved his hands up from his sides and clasped them together over himself, a makeshift way to cover his shame. Shame really, Axel was enjoying the view.

“ _Anyway. So Cisco and I have had this little game of 'Dares' going on for a few weeks now. Before tonight, it was all just casual shit, like eating out of date food or running through rush-hour traffic. Y'know, the usual.”_ Mark said with a shrug. _“Anyway, Cisco's latest dare was that we... try on our partners costumes.”_

“ _Wait, what?”_ Axel choked out, only just managing to hold back a wave of an infectious laughter from swallowing him up as Mark forced himself to recanted his sordid little tale.

“ _You heard me. He dared me to try on your costume, and then I dared him to try on Lisa's.”_ Mark muttered, sounding almost ashamed of himself as he sat on the floor of their bedroom in nothing but his underwear with a ripped set of pants lying next to him in a messy heap.

“ _So is that why you forced me out into the cold to buy a new toaster, or...”_ Axel said, looking down at Mark with an undeniable confidence to his voice.

“ _Yes and No. Yes, because honestly I'd rather you never knew about... this! And no, because we're living with my fucking son Axel. An exploding toaster isn't exactly the ideal thing to have around a kid dumbass.”_ Mark spat out a little flippantly, glowering up at Axel with a murderous looking scowl on his face. Clearly Mark was more embarrassed than angry, but honestly who could blame him. He looked a damn mess.

“ _I'd have liked an exploding toaster as a kid, but whatever, we can't all be perfect.”_ Axel said with an uninterested shrug.

 

Sitting down next to Mark on the floor with a soft thud, Axel continued to grin away as he turned to face the now blushing meta-human next to him. Mark couldn't help but wince at the sight. This little ribbing was going to be painful, he just knew it.

“ _So let me get this straight. You're weari- well, trying to wear my costume... because Cisco dared you too?”_ Axel asked, his playful voice oddly level when compared to the almost-manic smirk on his face.

“ _Yep.”_ Mark admitted with a truly defeated sounding sigh.

“ _Was wearing what is clearly my under-wear also part of the dare, or is that because your a dirty birdie Mr. Mardon?”_ Axel teased as he begun to run his fingers along Marks bare thigh playfully, The hearty shiver that ran through his weather-controlling boyfriend in response to his tender touch did nothing more than widen the smirk on Axel's face. Too damn adorable.

“ _I'm not even going to dignify that with a response.”_ Mark groaned out painfully as he let his now burning red face fall forward in a pathetic attempt to hide from the obnoxiously smug looking Axel sat down next to him.

“ _Dirty-birdie. Got it.”_ Axel cackled as he slapped his hand down onto Mark's knee. This was just too good to be true.

 

The pair sat in awkward silence for a good few minutes or so before Axel decided that enough was enough. He'd let Mark suffer enough for one night. Time to have a little fun.

 

“ _Alright, lets get you up and dressed. I've got an extra pair of 'Trickster' pants tucked away in the back of the closet from that one time I wore that fat suit when we robbed that bank. No doubt they'll be too big for you, but worse things have happened.”_ Axel said whimsically as as he threw his hands up into the air and spun around in tight little circles, quickly making his way over towards the closet and away from the still red-looking Mark.

“ _Excuse me?”_ Mark asked from his position on the floor as he glanced up at Axel with a truly bewildered look all over his face. Jesus Christ, no man so murderous should be allowed to look that adorable. It just wasn't fair.

“ _You heard me, get up asshat. If you're going to do this then you might as well do it right.”_ Axel said as he stopped in front of the closet and placed his hand down onto the handle. _“Also, I want to see you standing up in my little tighty-whiteys. I think I deserve that much after you threw me out into the cold AND ripped my favourite pair of pants after all.”_

“ _Jesus Christ. Alright already, I'm getting up.”_ Mark heaved out as he forced himself off the floor and back onto his feet, his hands placed down firmly on his hips as he stood presenting himself towards his comparatively tiny lover with a grimace carved into his stubbly features.

“ _You're getting up? Fuck, so am I by the looks of it.”_ Axel cackled almost sinisterly as he finally got a good look at Mark in those ridiculous briefs. _“Bulge a'hoy!”_

 

_\- - - - -_

 

Twenty minutes later and a picture of Mark dressed up in full 'Trickster' garb has been sent to Cisco's phone.

 

Needless to say, it was a mess.

 

The jacket was a just a tiny bit too small, the domino mask didn't fit right on Mark's face and while the new, baggier pants did fit his waist they didn't even reach down to Mark's shins. Regardless of all the technicalities though, Mark was indeed wearing the costume like the dare had said, even if he didn't look all that happy about it.

 

Luckily for Mark, the reply he not five minutes later of Cisco done up in knee-high black boots, leather trousers, a far too tight leather coat and shirt matched with a cheap blonde wig were more than enough to cheer up the endlessly moody meta-human.

 

Oh, that and how ridiculously turned on Axel seemed to be seeing Mark dressed up in his clothes. Mark would have to try and remember that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! If you could leave Kudos/Feedback then that'd be greatly appreciated. It's such a cliche, but a little support really does go a hell of a long way.
> 
> I'm trying to do more writing in general, so if you have any prompts or stuff then hit me up at TheBustyStClair.tumblr.com and I'll see what I can do.


	4. Soaking Up The Silence

Axel Walker, despite the fact that he was a wanted criminal and more than just a little bit homicidal, liked to think of himself as a pretty happy and well rounded individual.

 

At the ripe old age of twenty four he could proudly boast that he had an apartment all of his own, a steady job that paid ridiculously well ( _even if said job was illegal_ ), was in what he hoped would be a long-term relationship with his absolutely stunning boyfriend and to top it all of he had recently begun to build up what he hoped would one day be a pretty stellar relationship with his previously estranged father.

 

Oh, that and his new blonde highlights and lip-piercing looked absolutely fucking amazing if he did so say himself.

 

Yep, life was good.

 

Honestly all of that was all well and good, but was there anything on the planet that came even close to being as nice and life-affirming as just being all snuggling up on the couch with your tall, dark and handsome boyfriend while eating Ice-cream and catching up with the latest series of 'Mob Wives'? If there was, Axel was yet to discover it and truthfully he wasn't sure that he wanted too either.

 

Laying on his side with Mark laying right behind him, Axel lay his head back against Mark's chest and sighed contently as he watched Mark slip one of his comparatively large arms over Axel's slender frame while the pair continued to snuggle up together under a deep, blood red blanket.

 

Earlier that very same day, Len and Mick had ever so kindly offered to take Josh off their hands for the evening so that Mark and Axel could have some much needed ' _alone time_ '. Normally what the Captain was alluding to would have been painfully apparent, but for now the pair seemed to be more than happy enough simply snuggling up together on the couch. It wasn't exactly what Axel had in mind ( _Much like Len had suggested, Axel's plan had involved a lot less clothes and a lot more lube_ ) but frankly this would do. Who knows, maybe they could do both?

 

Slipping one hand out from under Mark's embrace and snatching the tub of ice-cream off the table, Axel grabbed the spoon out of the tub with his other hand and quickly pushed a spoonful of the tasty frozen dessert into his mouth. God damn, that tasted good.

 

“ _Fuuuuuuck, These women make our lives look relatively normal.”_ Axel chuckled as he slipped another spoonful of chocolate ice-cream into his mouth. _“_ _I mean I get that what Carla said was fucked up and all but jeez, I dunno if it warranted THAT kind of reaction...”_

“ _I dunno, normal might be pushing it babe.”_ Mark said with a shrug. _“I mean, I don't see these women out robbing banks or trying to kill The Flash. Besides, Carla totally had it coming. No one talks to Renee like that and lives to tell the tale.”_

“ _Your obvious Renee-bias aside, its their husbands that do all the dirty work you big doofus, they don't need to get their hands dirty. That's why the husbands all in jail while the ladies are free to live it up... and kick the living shit out of each other on a semi-regular basis apparently”_ Axel said.

“ _Ah. Makes sense I guess. One of the many perks of being a Moll. All the champagne you can drink, fur you can wear and knuckle-dusters y'can carry.”_ Mark replied with a slight nod as he opened his mouth wide and allowed Axel to push a spoonful of freezing yet sinfully delicious ice-cream into his mouth. _“And I don't have a 'Renee-Bias', you know Big Ang is my favourite._ _”_

“ _Big Ang is everyone's favourite Cloudy.”_ Axel said.

“ _As well she should be. She's kind of everything, y'know?”_ Mark said almost in a whisper as he lay back on the couch and pulled Axel in closer towards him.

 

Laying together in a calm and comfortable silence, the pair continued to watch the madness unfolding before their very eyes on the obscenely large, stolen flat-screen TV mounted on the wall across the room. It was strange how relaxing they found this arrangement to be considering how wild things on screen were quickly becoming, but neither of them dared speaking up and potentially ruining the mood.

 

People like to say that there were two different types of silence. There was that awkward silence that everyone and their mothers had experienced at some point in their lives, usually when they were left alone with strangers or had made a blasé comment about something they shouldn't have. The other kind of silence though was the kind that Mark and Axel had found themselves enveloped in as they lay bundled up in each others arm. This was a silence that didn't come from awkwardness or misunderstand, but from the very opposite. This was a silence that only ever made itself available to people who were so comfortable around one another that they could simply sit in each others company without having to use words or actions as a buffer.

 

It was nice.

 

It was calming.

 

It was oddly intimate?

 

In a word, it was perfect.

 

“ _This is nice.”_ Mark said some time later as the closing credits finally begun to roll, successfully de-railing Axel's self-congratulatory inner monologue and the perfectly intimate silence in the process. The Junior Trickster would admit, he was almost a little disappointed.

“ _Yeah, it is.”_ Axel replied before yawning aloud, not bothering to cover his mouth as he tilted his head backwards and let it rest down in the crook of Mark's neck. _“We should do this more often.”_

“ _That'd be nice, but where would we find the time? I doubt Len and Mick will be offering to take Josh off our hands anytime soon.”_ Mark huffed out as he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss to Axel's temple. _“Which sounds worse than I thought it would out loud, but you know what I mean. I'd happily lay down my life for my kid, but sometimes I do like a little peace and quiet.”_

“ _Don't worry Cloudy, I got ya. And I wouldn't bet on those two not offering to watch him again. You know as well as I do that Snart has always had a soft spot for little Joshie. Len just can't say no to him no matter how hard he tries.”_ Axel chuckled softly.

“ _While that is certainly true lets not kid ourselves, Mick's got a massive soft spot for Josh too. We both saw him sneak Josh that pack of cookies before they left.”_ Mark cackled a little too loudly, a sure sign that the weather-controlling meta was getting tired. Axel couldn't help but jump in surprise before he carefully placed the tub of ice-cream back down onto the edge of the coffee-table laying besides them. Last thing he needed was to be cleaning a chocolatey smear off the floor.

“ _Can't deny that. Mick's really just a big softy behind that 'crazy pyromaniac built like a brick shithouse' routine isn't it? It's kinda cute actually.”_ Axel said.

“ _Cute? Do I have some competition for your hand Mr. Walker?”_ Mark teased as he pressed another kiss onto Axel's temple.

“ _From Mick the Dick? Nah, you've not got to worry about him. Now Detective Thawne on the other hand you do have to worry about. Have you seen that beach blonde hair and those baby-blue eyes of his? They're to die for.”_ Axel taunted as he continue to just lie bundled up in Mark's arms, feeling more and more tired as the seconds skittered on by.

“ _Fuck off.”_ Mark muttered sleepily as he yawned into Axel's freshly dyed locks. “ _Don't make me kill Detective Prettyboy now. You know how much I hate competition.”_

“ _Aw man, you know I love it when you get all possessive.”_ Axel said silently as he lay himself back completely against Mark's solid frame and slowly shut his eyes.

“ _I know you do Loki-Charms. I know you do.”_ Mark said with an almost silent chuckle as he too lay back onto the couch and continued to cuddle into the smaller man laying at his side. Before long, the pair found themselves drifting into a deep slumber whilst in the background the Television continued to mumble away to itself in an almost comforting gesture.

 

\- - - - -

 

The very next morning, Axel woke up to the sound of their front door being pounded on by what sounded like a battering ram. Jumping off the couch and onto the floor with fright, Axel groaned pathetically as he lay on the freezing cold laminate while up on the couch, Mark continued to snooze away peacefully.

“ _MARK! AXEL! OPEN UP!”_ Mick barked aggressively through the door as the heavy thumping noise seemed to be getting louder and more aggressive with each bang.

“ _Daaaaaad! Asselllllllll! I need to peeeeeeee!”_ Josh moaned from behind the door while what sounded like Len tried desperately to calm him down.

 

Pushing himself up off the floor, Axel got up onto his knees and carefully begun to rub the gunk out of his eyes. Ugh, he was far too tired for this. Peeling his eyes off the door and towards the clock, Axel couldn't help but curse aloud at the sight. 11:37am. Jesus Christ. How long had they been out for?

 

“ _AXEL! MARK! SOMEONE OPEN THIS FUCKIN' DOOR ALREADY!”_ Mick roared like a wild animal while Josh gasped dramatically.

“ _Uh-oh! Uncle Mick just said a swear!”_ Josh said with an infectious giggle having suddenly forgotten about his apparently dire need to pee thanks to Mick's consistent potty-mouth. Not a second later, a lighter thumping noise was heard swiftly followed by Mick cursing yet again.

“ _Jesus Lenny, what the shit was that for?!”_ Mick moaned softly while Josh cackled away to himself.

“ _No swearing in front of the kid!”_ Len snapped without hesitating as Mick grunted yet again following another thumping noise. _“And that was for the second swear. Next time I'm breaking your jaw Micky, We'll see if you manage to keep cursing with your jaw wired.”_

 

Eventually managing to get back up onto his feet, Axel placed both his hands down onto his sides and groaned deeply as he carefully begun to give his tired limbs a good stretch. As enjoyable as his night on the couch with Mark was, it did absolutely nothing to help his already aching back. God damn that poor posture of his.

 

Heading on past the couch and delicately brushing Mark's fringe out of his eyes as he went, Axel couldn't help but gasp silently as his feet pressed down into something wet laying by the couch. Glanced briefly away from his sleeping boyfriend, Axel couldn't help but sigh in apparent defeat as he noticed that at some point during the night someone ( _more than likely himself to be fair, he did tend to move around a lot in his sleep_ ) had knocked his precious ice-cream off the table and down onto the floor. What remained of his beloved treat was nothing more than almost black puddle that was sure to have stripped the gloss off of the mahogany surface below.

 

Given that last night had been one of the most perfect nights that the young trickster could remember though, he wasn't exactly sure he really cared about his now ruined ice-cream.

 

Stepping out of the puddle and hurrying himself along his apartment and towards the front-door, which by now Mick had just about knocked off its hinges, Axel couldn't help but grin away giddily to himself as last nights events continued to run through his mind with the force and speed of the Flash himself.

 

Yep. Life was good.

 


	5. Stranger Things Have Happened (Maxelham)

“ _Remind me again why you're making me do this?”_ Mark asked with an undeniable bite to his tone as he glowered out of the car window towards the buildings swiftly zooming past.

“ _Oh don't start this again Mark, you know fine well why I'm making you do this.”_ Julie said. _“We moved to Central City god knows how many months ago and you still haven't made any friends outside of Len and the gang. As much as I love you babe you really need to start trying to get out more.”_

“ _Ain't exactly easy y'know? For a start I'm a wanted crimina-”_ Mark started to say before Julie quickly cut him off.

“ _And who's fault is that exactly? I'll give you a hint, his name rhymes with Bark Bardon and he is as handsome as he is ridiculous.”_ Julie said as she turned the car left and continued on down the long, surprisingly empty city streets.

 

Huffing dramatically as he kept his eyes trained on the blurry world outside, Mark drummed his fingers along his knees in a tight, rhythmic fashion. Julie meanwhile glanced briefly at her boyfriend out the corner of her eyes and couldn't help but sigh apprehensively.

 

“ _Listen, it's going to be fine. I promise.”_ Julie said softly as the car took a right at the bottom of the road _. “_ _Barry from work's boyfriend runs the group so you'll be in very safe hands. It might be the only gaming group I could find in all of the Gem's, but its rated 4.8 Stars by over a thousand people so how bad could it possibly be? Honestly honey, you'll be fine.”_

“ _If you say so.”_ Mark huffed out with a slight frown. _“I still don't know why neither you nor Axel couldn't come along with me just this once. I would feel a lot more comfortable with at least one of the two by my side.”_

“ _We're not coming because if we did chances are you wouldn't even bother trying to talk to anyone else, which y'know, makes all the time I spent looking for a LGBT+ Gaming Group within a one hundred miles radius of our apartment completely redundant.”_ Julie said with such an unmovable authority to her tone that Mark almost considered not questioning her on it.

 

Almost.

 

“ _But like, what even am I supposed to say when I get there? Hi, I'm Mark Mardon and I'm a bisexual transman who is addicted to playing 'Halo' and obscure JRPG's?”_ Mark asked incredulously as if the answer were glaringly obvious. It was at that point that the car finally pulled over to a stop outside a brightly lit bar covered in garish neon signs.

“ _And 'Animal Crossing'. Don't forget 'Animal Crossing'.”_ Julie said playfully while Mark could only muster up a groan in reply. _“But seriously, that sounds pretty good to me honey. Besides, chances are they'll probably know who you are already. Wanted criminal, remember?”_

“ _Oh ha-fucking-ha. Real funny babe.”_ Mark tried his best to say as sternly as possibly although the small grin peaking up on his face ultimately betrayed him.

 

Seeing that Julie's resolve showed no signs of cracking, Mark couldn't help but sigh.

 

“ _You're really going to make me do this, aren't you?”_ Mark said.

“ _Hell yeah I am. Barry said he's been to these nights a fair few times now when he's had the night off and that everyone who goes is really, really nice and welcoming, so please trust me when I say this will be good for you Mark. I promise.”_ Julie said as she reached over across the car and grasped Mark's hand in her own, giving it a reassuring squeeze as she did so. _“And if for some strange reason you decide to just wait until I drive away and not bother going at all, I'll know before you even manage to think of a good excuse as to why you did it. Barry gave his boyfriend my number and a pretty spot on description of you so if you don't bother showing up then I'd check into a hotel for the next few days if I were you.”_

“ _You really do think of everything don't you?”_ Mark said, failing miserably to hold back an almost impressed looking smirk from appearing on his stubbly features as he glanced up into Julie's deep brown eyes.

“ _I'm a cop hon, making sure I look at every possible angle is just something I do effortlessly nowadays.”_ Julie said as she leaned over towards Mark and tenderly kissed his cheek. _“Now get out and go have some fun handsome. Eat, drink and be merry, you know the drill. Besides, I'm 99% sure I'm parked on a yellow line right now and I really don't want to a ticket.”_

 

* * *

 

Mark would rather throw himself into the Central City pier head first than admit to Julie that she was right ( _again_ ), but damn, Mark was having a hell of a lot of fun.

 

The event itself was being held in the 'Members Only' area of one of Central Cities swankiest bars. That alone gave the entire night a more relaxed feel than he could have ever could have hoped for. It had certainly made talking to all the other people here a hell of a lot easier, that was for sure. While considering that it was meant to be a gaming hobby group there had been very little talk about actual games, Mark wasn't really all that concerned about it. He was having fun and that was all that mattered in the end.

 

Eventually having to literally force himself away from the conversation long enough to go and get himself a drink, Mark quickly hurried himself across the busy bar when he felt a broad arm being slung around his shoulder and an equally sturdy frame pressing up against his side.

“ _Damn you're a hard man to get a hold of, you know that? Who knew you'd turn out to be such a social butterfly? Not me, thats for sure. Anyway, Now that I've finally got you to myself lets check the list then, shall we? Tall? Check. Angsty looking? Check. Handsome? Hell yeah that's a biiig check. An affinity for leather? Another check. Hmm. Lemmie guess, you're Julie's boyfriend right?”_ Said the mysterious stranger with a lazy lilt to his voice as Mark could only look down at them in a mixture of shock and confusion.

“ _Huh? Oh uh, yeah. Guess that'll be me. Hi”._

“ _Hmm. Gotta say, I'm glad to see you here man. Julie sounded like she was gonna have your head mounted above her mantle if you pulled a no-show.”_ Giggled the man giggly as he gently patted Mark's shoulder over and over again.

“ _Oh yeah?”_ Mark couldn't help but ask.

“ _Guaranteed my man. I have no doubt she'd be able to pull it off too I think? Like, she's a cop bro. A cop. They have like, connections and shit. She could make you disappear like THAT!”_ The man said as he tried, and failed, to click his fingers together for dramatic emphasis. _“One time I told Barry that the airport I'd been working from that day had been locked-down after a bomb threat or something when actually I was just out having some drinks with my buddies in Star City. Who knew he had eyes and ears all the way over there m'aright? Caught me out almost immediately. Doesn't help that they are his friends too, but whatever, that's neither here nor there. Pfft, Cops man. Can't get anything past 'em. Unless you live in Gotham of course, in which ca-”_

“ _I uh, I'm sorry to interrupt, but who the hell are you?”_ Mark half snapped while the other man looked up at him with one eyebrow irked upwards.

“ _What the hell do yo- Oh. OH! I didn't introduce myself did I? Ah Shit. Guess that last shot was one too many right?”_ The man said as he moved his free arm up towards Mark's chest and held his hand out flat before him, clearly looking to shake. _“Okay lets try this again then. Hey buddy, glad to see you came! I'm Hal. Hal Jordan. I'm the unofficial leader of this little group, and by unofficial I of course mean I founded this group and hell yeah I'm in charge and you'll have to drag me away from that title kicking and screaming.”_

“ _Hey Hal. Its nice to meet you man. I'm Mark.”_ Mark said as he took Hal's hand in his own and gave it a firm shake, his smile a little more relaxed looking now that he and the very clearly half-drunk man hanging off him like a monkey from a tree branch had introduced himself.

“ _Nice to meet you too man. But seriously, our cop partners and their methods of killing us aside, I'm real glad to see you made it! Its always nice to see some new faces around here. Plus, a night out on the town is always a hell of a lot better than being flayed by your beloved lovers before they find a way to dispose of the corpse without anyone batting an eye, right?”_ Hal said.

“ _Wow. That was... oddly specific. That happen to you a lot?”_ Mark chuckled as Hal shrugged his shoulders and waved his hand back and forward dismissively.

“ _Worse things have happened my man. Worse things have happened.”_ Hal said warmly while slipping his arm off of Mark's shoulders and using it to gesture towards the still pretty crowded bar now just a few feet ahead of them. _“Anyway, how about we get ourselves a drink or two and we can talk a little less about out law-abiding partners and a little more about how awesome the 'Perception' trailer was. Sound good to you?”_

“ _I wouldn't exactly describe Axel as law-abiding, but sure, sounds like a plan Hal. Care to lead the way.”_ Mark said.

“ _Atta boy Marky. Atta boy.”_ Hal cheered obnoxiously loudly before he threw his hands up into the air and looked around the rest of the bar with a triumphant smirk plastered across his face. _“WHO WANTS SHOTS?!”_

 

* * *

 

What seemed like an eternity later, Mark woke up laying on what felt like a warm, comfortable cloud. Purring contently as he rolled his stiff shoulders, Mark acknowledged the mostly empty bottle of beer he was clutching in his left hand and the mobile phone he had in his right.

 

Jesus, where the hell was he? And what time was it?

 

Peering his eyes open ever so slightly and wincing to himself at the harsh sunlight pounding down hard from above, Mark looked around and noticed that he, and several other people from last nights impromptu party he guessed, had somehow wound up at the beach, having all seemingly made themselves quite at home for the night after a heavy night of god only knows what.

 

Mark had no doubt there would be countless horrible selfies showing exactly what had happened the night before and honestly he was dreading them. He never managed to make 'blackout drunk' look sexy, no matter how hard he tried.

 

For a split second Mark felt an unparalleled panic make itself at home in his chest when he found that it didn't seem like he could actually move his legs, but upon closer inspection Mark couldn't help but feel immediately relieved when he finally noticed that none other than Hal Jordan himself seemed to have made himself quite at home over Mark's legs for the night, a whole sea of empty glass bottles surrounding them like some pretentious mordern art display that Mark just didn't have the energy to admire. All he knew was he hoped that some of the other unconscious folk around them had provided to the impressive pile of empty bottles and that he and Hal weren't the only ones to blame.

 

On the bright side it looked as though when Hal had thrown up at some point during the night that he'd had the decency to at least do it away from Mark and the new, expensive jeans he'd worn that night to try and impress everyone. That in itself was surely something to celebrate, right?

 

Laying his head back down on the soft, welcoming pillow of sand behind him, Mark choked out a wheezy groan and tried his best to focus on the sound of the calm, relaxing waves washing up onto the beach and not on the rumbling discomfort in his stomach that he just knew was going to quickly turn to nausea at some point very, very soon.

 

Gasping shrilly as his phone begun to vibrate in his hand, Mark peaked one eye open and glanced at the sand coated LCD screen. 17 texts ( _11 from Julie, 6 from Axel_ ) and 6 missed calls ( _all from Julie_ ). Hmm. That probably wasn't too good a sign.

 

Sighing contently to himself as he tossed his phone over a still sleeping blonde just a few feet to his left, Mark did his best to shift himself into a more comfortable position without waking the still dozing Hal snoozing contently across his legs like a big obnoxious house cat. At some point over the last few seconds, the lummox had begun to snore unbearably loudly. As annoyed as he wanted to be at the sound, Mark could only bring himself to laugh.

 

Julie was almost certainly going to kill him for not coming home last night, but Mark wasn't sure that he cared. She had said that he needed to get out more often, hadn't she?

 

It was at that point that Hal suddenly sprung to life and was promptly sick a second time, this time all over Mark's nice new jeans.

 

“ _Ah_ _lech lehizdayen! S_ _orry man. Guess this is why Barry won't let me drink tequila. Oyy.”_ Hal muttered before he collapsed back down onto Mark's legs, only just managing to avoid landing face first in his own vomit. Staring down at the now more than likely unconscious Jordan, Mark couldn't help but chuckle under his breath. Lord have mercy that man was a mess. A hilarious and endearing mess that Mark was looking very much forward to getting to know better in the future, but a mess none the less.

 

Groaning painfully to himself but still not finding enough strength to actually move himself or the now pathetically groaning Hal up off of him, Mark slung his arm up over his face and sighed softly. His head was pounding and his stomach was absolutely aching, but it served him right really.

 

It was worth it though.

 


End file.
